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Palestine

July 28, 2026

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Culture

How Argentina-Spain World Cup final became debate over Israel, Palestine

Governments and fans alike have turned teams and players into symbols of political division.

Government Media Office Director Ismail Thawabteh (R) and Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem (L) speak at a press conference.

Explainer

What does Hamas' move to dissolve its Gaza government mean?

Hamas has agreed to hand civilian administration over to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, but the committee is not yet in Gaza and may not deploy until Hamas’ disarmament is resolved.

Joint List Party leader Ayman Odeh attends a meeting on April 5, 2021 in Jerusalem, Israel.

Interview

Ayman Odeh says Arab parties could back Bennett or Eisenkot to block Netanyahu

In an interview with Al-Monitor, head of the Arab-Israeli Hadash-Ta'al Knesset faction, Ayman Odeh, said his party is prepared to make difficult decisions to topple Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

Ayman Odeh

Head of the Knesset's Hadash-Ta'al faction

Latest News

Who is Melat Kiros, the pro-Palestinian who unseated a longtime Democrat?

Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

Amnesty International accuses Israel of state-led ethnic cleansing in West Bank

Israeli security forces attempt to disperse Palestinians who had gathered to protest the reported burning of land by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Idna, west of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, on June 5, 2026.

Ireland bans hard-line Israeli ministers Ben-Gvir, Smotrich: What to know

Israeli policemen surround Israeli Minister of National Security and far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir as he arrives outside the Damascus Gate of the walled Old City of Jerusalem on May 26, 2025, during a flag march for Jerusalem Day, commemorating the Israeli army's 1967 capture of the city's eastern sector during the Arab-Israeli war.

Record Israeli arms exports highlight global rush for air defense

People stand in front of the Arrow 3 shield system during an event of the German Air Force to declare the Initial Operating Capability for the Arrow Weapon System for Germany at the Annaburger Heide Air Base in Schoenewalde / Holzdorf, eastern Germany, on Dec. 3, 2025.

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Daoud Kuttab

Palestine Columnist

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Rasha Abou Jalal

In Gaza City, reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Abeer Ayyoub

In Istanbul, reporting on Palestine

Naima Morelli

In Rome, reporting on Middle East culture

Fatima AbdulKarim

In Ramallah, reporting on the West Bank

Israeli onlookers survey the damage caused by a rocket which was fired from the Gaza Strip and landed in the southern Israeli town of Sderot March 12, 2014. Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired at least 20 rockets into Israel on Wednesday, the Israeli military said, in the heaviest such barrage in two years. REUTERS/Ilan Assayag (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) ISRAEL OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN ISRAEL - RTR3GSN7

PIJ rockets remind Israelis of failure of Gaza withdrawal

Though Israel possesses the best military means in the region, when attacked by rockets, its hands are tied, unable to retaliate forcefully, and the Israeli population is growing more and more skeptical about the worth of an agreement.

A Palestinian man gestures as he inspects the scene of an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern of Gaza Strip March 14, 2014. A small armed faction in the Gaza Strip fired rockets at Israel on Thursday, drawing retaliatory air strikes and pushing cross-border violence into a third day despite a truce called by the more powerful Palestinian group Islamic Jihad. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3H1MY

Gaza residents fear new war

Civilians queue at bakeries and stock up on food in fear of a new war with Israel.

A Palestinian girl walks past a monument of a homemade M75 rocket in the middle of a square in Gaza City March 10, 2014. Hamas fired M75 rockets at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in the 2012 eight-day fighting with Israel. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3GEHZ

Hamas trapped between Israel, Islamic Jihad

While committed to keeping a quiet border with Israel, Hamas leaders fear the alliance between Iran and Islamic Jihad, and prefer Israel’s wrath to Iran’s anger.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish boy looks down from a balcony at a mass prayer in Jerusalem March 2, 2014. Hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews held a mass prayer in Jerusalem on Sunday in protest against a bill meant to slash military exemptions granted to seminary students, a tradition held since the founding of Israel. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION MILITARY) - RTR3FWP4

Israeli opposition fails to oppose controversial bills

The opposition parties' boycotting Knesset debates this week on three controversial bills is a failure for Israel's democratic process.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) and Salam Fayyad, whom Abbas named prime minister to replace Hamas's Ismail Haniyeh, attend a cabinet meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah July 26, 2007. Abbas accepted the resignation on Thursday of his top security adviser, Mohammad Dahlan, a senior official in Abbas's office said. REUTERS/Loay Abu Haykel (WEST BANK) - RTR1S9IX

Dahlan, Abbas feud pushes Fatah to brink of crisis

Fatah supporters of Mohammed Dahlan in the West Bank are bracing for a crackdown by President Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinian activists press Abbas to outlaw honor crimes

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has failed to sign laws criminalizing honor crimes despite pledges to do so.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon sit in front of a display of M302 rockets, found aboard the Klos C ship, at a navy base in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat March 10, 2014. Netanyahu, displaying on Monday what Israel said were seized Iranian-supplied missiles bound for militants in Gaza, called on the West not to be fooled by Tehran's diplomatic outreach over its nuclear programme. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3GGUG

Israel fears it has lost world attention on Iran

Israeli defense officials estimate that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are behind the weapons vessel captured last week.

Ahmad Khalaf prays outside al-Aqsa mosque after he was released from an Israeli prison, in Jerusalem's old city December 31, 2013. Israel freed 26 Palestinian prisoners on Tuesday, days before U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was due back in the Middle East to press the two sides to agree a framework peace deal. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTX16YA6

Gazans dream of praying at Al-Aqsa Mosque

Israel has prevented Gazans from traveling to Jerusalem since 2000, but their strong connection with the Holy City is inspiring new campaigns for change.

Shadows of Palestinians are cast on a wall with a cross at Gaza's Der Latin church on Christmas Eve December 24, 2009 as they wait for the Christmas mass. Less than 100 Gazans gathered in the church to take part in the Christmas celebrations. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis (GAZA - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTR28C3I

Vandals attack Catholic church in Gaza

A small bomb at Gaza's Catholic church is the latest attack targeting the Palestinian Christian minority in the Hamas-ruled enclave.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (R) speaks to his former personal secretary Shula Zaken during his hearing at Jerusalem's District Court September 24, 2012. An Israeli court spared Olmert a prison term over a conviction for breach of trust on Monday, potentially paving his way to a political comeback. REUTERS/Sebastian Scheiner/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW) - RTR38CUD

Olmert's political comeback crumbles

The grand political plans of former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert suffered a mortal blow with the testimony of his former confidante Shula Zaken, leaving the center-left without a leader for the next elections.

Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of the Hamas Gaza government, prays before delivering a speech in Gaza City October 19, 2013. Haniyeh urged rival Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to speed up the implementation of the faltering Egyptian-brokered unity deal to heal six years of political rifts. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX14GN2

Hamas debates technocrat government in Gaza

The loss of financial support from Iran has reportedly contributed to Gaza's current crisis, according to Hamas sources.

M302 rockets found aboard the Klos C ship are displayed at an Israeli navy base in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat March 10, 2014. The ship seized by the Israeli navy on suspicion of smuggling arms from Iran to the Gaza Strip docked on Saturday in Israel, which planned to put the cargo on display in hope of denting Tehran's rapprochement with the West. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3GG0P

Iranian weapons shipment no 'tiebreaker'

The rollout of Israel's seizure of a ship carrying Iranian arms may have disappointed Israeli leaders looking for a public relations windfall.